End of an Era

NZ lost its last WW1 veteran with the death of Victor “Bob” Rudd aged 104. Born in London in 1901, Rudd served with the British Army’s 9th Lancers regiment in the final months of the war after lying about his age. He emigrated to NZ in the 1920s and eventually settled in Greymouth, where he worked variously as a waterfront worker, cobbler and labourer. Rudd lived independently at home until shortly after his 100th birthday. He outlived his wife and son and is survived by a daughter, Valda. “He was a great storyteller. He really held the floor,” she says. “As he’s got older, he didn’t stopped going back to the days of the First World War.”

Victor Rudd: died 20 November 2005